Global drywall demand to grow 5.8% per year

The latest World Drywall & Building Plaster study from The Freedonia Group puts global drywall demand at 10.4 billion square meters by 2018, indicating an annual growth rate of 5.8%. This stands in stark contrast to demand during the 2008-2013 period.

Freedonia analyst Allison Blackburn noted that the growth will largely ride on the back of the Chinese and U.S. market, where nearly three-quarters of new demand will be generated.

“Rebounds in building construction spending after a period of decline in both North America and Western Europe and solid, but decelerating, growth in the important Asia/Pacific region will be the primary drivers of growth,” said analyst Allison Blackburn. “Increasing demand in the Africa/Mideast region, where drywall continues to gain popularity over more traditional building materials, will also contribute to gains.”

Freedonia estimates that drywall sales will grow 8.7% annually in the United States during this period and 7.2% annually in China. However, steady gains are expected in industrializing countries like Brazil, India, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, where there's an increasing demand for urban housing and usage of drywall over building plaster. Growth in Western Europe will also advance, but less quickly -- a 2.5% annual demand increase puts demand at 1.2 billion square meters by 2018, the slowest rate globally.